Why long letters work better in fundraising

I wish I got a nickel for every time someone told me “nobody reads long letters any more.” I’d have several more dollars than I have now.

It seems to be widely believed that direct mail fundraising letters should never, never, never be more than a single page long.

That’s really bad advice.

Short letters can work well.

But longer letters almost always do better.

But why? Lisa Sargent, writing at the Better Fundraising Blog, has some ideas, at How Long is Too Long?

Here’s what Lisa tells us your letter needs to do:

• Tell your story with emotion, clarity, resonance, truth, and urgency, present a strong offer, and provide repeated calls to action.
• Format for readability.
• If you use photos, you also need space for photo captions.

Not easy in just one page.

But also, here’s what “format for readability” means:

• 1-1.5” for your nonprofit logo/letterhead
• 1” margins left and right
• 1” for bottom page margin
• Type size set at 12-14 points, in a font that isn’t condensed
• Indent your paragraphs
• 1-2 lines for a page turn reminder (e.g., ‘continues on other side’)
• 1-1.5” for your signature block and side 2 sign-off
• You may (or may not) need an add’l .5 -.75” for footer with your charity number, tax ID, disclaimer, etc.
• You may (or may not) need a 2” address block.

I’d add to that: full blank lines between paragraphs, and no paragraphs longer than 6 or so lines.

Your one-page letter doesn’t have many words on it to do the things you need to do.

Your “standard” letter should be four pages long (two sheets, front and back).

Now and then, you should go longer than that.

Now and then, you can go with two pages (one sheet, front and back).

But rarely should you send a one-page letter. It is meaningfully less likely to work than longer letters.

And here’s something that may surprise you even more: Lisa advocates longer emails, too: 450-750 words.

With this advice on structure:

• You have 1-2 lines to get to the point.
• Make your first call to action within 140 words.
• Front-load your subject line (best parts first).
• Below the first call to action you can expand your story, and add repeated calls to action after that

The widespread need for short fundraising messages is really just a superstition: It seems to make sense, but rarely proves to be reality.

Make those letters longer!